Who's So Vain? Carly Simon will be revealing the inspiration for her pop classic, "You're So Vain." Suspects include Warren Beatty and Mick Jagger. My guess (you heard it here first, kids): Gene Simmons of Kiss. Who do YOU think she was singing about?posted by twsf (69 comments total)

My relevance meter is clacking. Should it be clacking?posted by squirrel at 12:10 PM on August 5, 2003

Wouldn't it be weird if Carly Simon was singing about Don McLean, and Don McLean was singing about Carly Simon?posted by Hildago at 12:11 PM on August 5, 2003

jesus. after all this time who could possibly give a shit?!posted by quonsar at 12:12 PM on August 5, 2003

"Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports and NBC Olympics, said he'll never tell once Simon divulges to him the subject of her 1972 song 'You're So Vain'..."

This information could become a lucrative commodity for Simon -- short a few bucks? Auction it off to someone else.posted by o2b at 12:13 PM on August 5, 2003

I am almost embarassed to tell you all that the song is about ME. Even though I was 11 when she wrote it. I was, um, a prodigy--yeah, that's the ticket--a prodigy when it came to the ladies. That's right. Too bad I burned out on the whole 'romance' <wink><wink> thing at 17.posted by billsaysthis at 12:14 PM on August 5, 2003

Dick Ebersol could auction it off. And so on... The hell with the Federal Reserve: We've got a multiplier effect here that kicks the llama's ass!posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:15 PM on August 5, 2003

But Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports and NBC Olympics, said he'll never tell once Simon divulges to him the subject of her 1972 song "You're So Vain" after a private performance in about two weeks.

That's terrible! that ruins the whole point of the song! What about the line "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" ? That was a major jab to all her ex's, even the ones who weren't actually the inspiration, it was brilliant. Oh well!posted by nelleish at 12:19 PM on August 5, 2003

It's a protest song. She was singing about Enver Hoxha. It's obvious when you think about it. That whole "when you walked into the party" refers to the Communist Party of Albania, and what's usually heard as "Saratoga" is really "Tirana." As for the sexual liason described in the song, Enver had a way with the ladies.posted by Mayor Curley at 12:23 PM on August 5, 2003

For the record, Simon acknowledges the song is a little about Beatty; it's a composite of three men from her L.A. days. Warren, it seems, was not a particularly good boyfriend.
So it's not just one man? 007 would be a better guess form teh lyrics:Some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend
Wife of a close friend, and....posted by thomcatspike at 12:23 PM on August 5, 2003

I heard it was actually about Marc Bolan, but after he died in 1977 she swore an oath to never tell anyone.

From the Pure Oxygen interview:well, it's certainly not, not about Warren

Double negative or just a bad stammer?posted by xiffix at 12:35 PM on August 5, 2003

If you put the song on "repeat" in your CD player, and watch "The Wall" - It's... unbelievable!posted by mildred-pitt at 12:36 PM on August 5, 2003

WolfDaddy - if I drank coffee, the clouds would now be sprayed all over my keyboard. (",)posted by widdershins at 12:36 PM on August 5, 2003

Firstly, the song has been stuck in my head for the past three days because every single web page I've visitied has been running this bit of news. And since I never really cared for the song, the only part that I remember is the part where she sings the title of the song. Because that's all I remember, it's more like just having the title of the song rolling around in my head constantly. This is quite annoying.

Also, apart from selling her "secrets," Carly Simon hasn't done ANYTHING noteworthy for absolutely ages. Why does everyone suddenly care? Honestly, she never even rated more than a B-list, even at the height of her popularity.

If anyone has useful suggestions for removing the song from my head, please suggest them before I take the Max Cohen/Darren Aronofsky approach.posted by leapfrog at 12:37 PM on August 5, 2003

I am old enough to remember the National Lampoon posit the theory that this song was about Richard Nixon's bout with phlebitis. . . . .You're Slow Vein. . . . ..

Being old sucks. . .if that is among my accessible memoriesposted by Danf at 12:40 PM on August 5, 2003

yeah, ditto, etc. this piece seems like non-news PR to revive a flagging career. at least the money's going to charity.

i always thought she maintained that it wasn't about one person.

and how anticlimactic will it be for Ebersol when she says," oh yeah, it was Warren Beatty."posted by mrgrimm at 12:41 PM on August 5, 2003

Marc Bolan, No "e".

TCS, do you mean E. Bolan (the inventor of ebola), Marc Bolane (the dynamic front man of U. Rex), or Marce Bolan (the notorious Italian hen teaser)? Or did I totally miss something else?posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:42 PM on August 5, 2003

Duh, it was about me.

Gene Simmons is the punchline to a joke I'm working on. It begins, "What do you call a 70 year-old transvestite?"posted by yerfatma at 12:42 PM on August 5, 2003

Not to lower the quality of this thread, but is she still going bra-less on her album covers? At the age I was when that song came out, it's all I really cared about.posted by tommasz at 1:21 PM on August 5, 2003

Not to lower the quality of this thread, but did she ever give Mr. Ed his teeth back?posted by yerfatma at 1:26 PM on August 5, 2003

Well, KISS formed in '73 (yes, they've been around for thirty years), and both Simmons and Stanley were in other bands before that, so it's not without the realm of possibility ...posted by WolfDaddy at 3:00 PM on August 5, 2003

I'm vain, and I let the dogs out.

They were getting restless.posted by dhoyt at 3:05 PM on August 5, 2003

Yo! Woo-hoo!! Over heee-re!! Lookee -- no WMDs found yet!! Hey, reporter-boy, it's a quagmire! A QUAG-MIRE!! Hello, is this thing on? Still can't find Osama!!

Oh, fuck, it's August. Never mind.posted by briank at 3:37 PM on August 5, 2003

Dude - I saw her in an interview, and she admitted that it was about Dave Coulier

Simon has said that the subject of her song has the letter "E" in his name

Ain't no one got more E's than Ed Bradlee. Is it about him?posted by dhoyt at 4:54 PM on August 5, 2003

I think it's about Marcellus Wallace's soul.posted by Fofer at 5:40 PM on August 5, 2003

But is Paul really dead?posted by HTuttle at 6:39 PM on August 5, 2003

yep. he died during the filming of Help! and they had to use a computer generated Paul to finish the film out, like what they did with The Crow.posted by mcsweetie at 7:00 PM on August 5, 2003

Re: those who scoffed at Martha's Vineyard Community Services:

Not everyone who lives on the Vineyard is rich. In fact, there are a lot of year-roiund residents who can only find jobs three months out of the year, which doesn't do wonders for the bank balance. The Wampanoag Indian reservation isn't exactly the Gold Coast, either.

Until the late seventies, the Vineyard was about half "summer people" and half blue-collar fishing folks.posted by Sidhedevil at 7:17 PM on August 5, 2003

It's about The Old Man in the Boat - shiver me vulvas matey!posted by Pressed Rat at 7:54 PM on August 5, 2003

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